Artists welcome more creative rights

Artists and business insiders immediately hailed Thursday's approval of the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances.

The treaty, under various titles, has been signed by 48 member states of World Intellectual Property Organization to date. It allows performers to share revenue generated internationally with producers and entitles them to authorize any reproduction or distribution of their works in overseas markets.

Producers and artists welcomed the treaty as a boost to intellectual property rights, saying it will encourage the creation of art. "It helps guarantee the rights of original artists and drives the development of original art in China," said Liu Zhao, the founder of Stellion Era Cultural Communication, a performance company based in Beijing.